Police on Friday arrested a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged for a shooting that took place in Minnesota during the White House surge of immigration agents to the state.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which initially brought the charges, announced the apprehension of Christian Castro, 52, in Texas on Friday. He faces four counts of second-degree assault for the non-fatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in January, and one count of falsely reporting a crime for his actions in the aftermath.
“I am pleased to hear Christian Castro has been taken into custody and will stand trial for the crimes he allegedly committed in Minnesota. Justice demands no less,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. “Christian Castro’s alleged shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis appears unwarranted, as evidenced by the lies Castro told his ICE supervisors to justify his unlawful actions.”
The release from Minnesota law enforcement said Castro was “located” by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and that he was arrested “by Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General agents and Texas Rangers with the BCA investigators present at the scene.”
The Department of Justice and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is unclear whether Castro has retained a lawyer.
Minnesota is still grappling with the fallout of Operation Metro Surge, which sent thousands of federal agents into the state and spurred mass protests at the turn of the year.
Ellison, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and BCA Superintendent Drew Evans sued the Trump administration in March for access to the investigation documentation into the shooting of Sosa-Celis and the killings of protesters Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
“In Minnesota, we believe in equal justice under the law,” Ellison said. “That means nobody is above the law, including agents of the federal government.”
State prosecutors allege that Castro fired a weapon through the front door of a home while in pursuit of another individual, striking Sosa-Celis, who is in the country lawfully.
Sosa-Celis and a roommate were later charged with assault after federal agents claimed they’d attacked them with a broom and snow shovel. But the charges were later dropped, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons suggested the Justice Department was investigating the actions of two ICE agents.
Source:politico.com